CTFR 18/469,987 CTFR 95999 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see pages 8-12 of applicant’s remarks, filed 3/17/2026, with respect to the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Asai (JP 2017030700) with respect to the amendment to independent claim 1. Claim Objections 06-18 AIA A series of singular dependent claims is permissible in which a dependent claim refers to a preceding claim which, in turn, refers to another preceding claim. A claim which depends from a dependent claim should not be separated by any claim which does not also depend from said dependent claim. It should be kept in mind that a dependent claim may refer to any preceding independent claim. In general, applicant's sequence will not be changed. See MPEP § 608.01(n). 07-29-01 AIA Claim s 15-21 are objected to because of the following informalities: In claims 15-17, line 2, “on a front side” should be changed to --on the front side--. In claims 15-17, line 4, “rearward as to, in conjunction with the front side frames, as to define” should be changed to --rearward of the cross- member, and in conjunction with the cross-member and the front side frames, define--. In claims 18-21, “frontal side frames” should be changed to --front side frames --. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-34-01 Claims 18-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claims 18 and 20-21 recite the limitation "the extending side walls" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 19 is rejected for being dependent upon a rejected claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1, 3, 8, and 18-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asai (JP 2017030700, hereinafter “Asai ‘700”, machine translation attached) in view of Asai (JP 2017047780, hereinafter “Asai ‘780”) . Regarding claim 1, Asai ‘700 discloses a vehicle (12) body front structure (Fig. 1, (13)) comprising: front side frames in a pair (14), the front side frames extending in a front-rear direction of a vehicle on both sides of a front of the vehicle in a vehicle width direction (Fig. 1, paragraph [0018] of the machine translation); a cross-member (22) extending in the vehicle width direction on a front side of the vehicle (Fig. 1) and joined to the front side frames (Fig. 1), the cross-member configured for transferring collision forces between the front side frames (paragraph [0040] of the machine translation teaches the transferring of collision forces from one side frame to the other through the cross-member (22)); a bumper beam (20) joined to respective vehicle front-side ends of the front side frames (Fig.1), the bumper beam extending in the vehicle width direction and including both end portions serving as bent portions toward a rear side of the vehicle (Fig. 1 shows the bumper beam (20)); reinforcements (42) having a generally triangular shape (see Fig. 1, width is thicker at one end versus the opposite end creating a triangular shape, paragraph [0031] of the machine translation), the reinforcements each including a bottom portion joined to the bumper beam (Fig. 1 shows (42) joined to (20)) and a tip portion protruding toward an inner rear side of the vehicle (Fig. 1 shows the angle of the reinforcements (20) towards an inner rear side of the vehicle, paragraph [0030] of the machine translation); and fixing brackets fixing the reinforcements to the front side frames respectively (paragraph [0057] of the machine translation teaches a fixing bracket), and an axial direction of each of the reinforcements fixed to a corresponding one of the front side frames intersects an outer surface of the corresponding one of the front side frames in the vehicle width direction at a position on a side closer to the front of the vehicle than a joined portion between the corresponding one of the front side frames and the cross-member (Fig. 3). Asai ‘700 does not explicitly disclose wherein the tip portion of each of the reinforcements has a D-shape including a rounded shape that extends in an up-down direction of the vehicle. Asai ‘780, like Asai ‘700, teaches a vehicle body front structure (Figs. 1-7), and further teaches wherein the tip portion of each of the reinforcements has a D-shape including a rounded shape that extends in an up-down direction of the vehicle (Fig. 3 shows a D-shape at the tip portion of (42), (42B) with the rounded roller (48) at the end). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the structure of Asai ‘700 with providing a D-shaped tip portion as taught by Asai ‘780, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to reduce friction force between the tip portion of the reinforcements and the side frames (Asai ‘780: paragraphs [0031] of machine translation). Regarding claim 3, Asai ‘700 discloses a vehicle (12) body front structure (Fig. 1, (13)) comprising: front side frames in a pair (14), the front side frames extending in a front-rear direction of a vehicle on both sides of a front of the vehicle in a vehicle width d irection (Fig. 1, paragraph [0018] of the machine translation); a cross-member (22) extending in the vehicle width direction on a front side of the vehicle (Fig. 1) and joined to the front side frames (Fig. 1); a bumper beam (20) joined to respective vehicle front-side ends of the front side frames (Fig.1), the bumper beam extending in the vehicle width direction and including both end portions serving as bent portions toward a rear side of the vehicle (Fig. 1 shows the bumper beam (20)); reinforcements (42) having a generally triangular shape (see Fig. 1, width is thicker at one end versus the opposite end creating a triangular shape, paragraph [0031] of the machine translation), the reinforcements each including a bottom portion joined to the bumper beam (Fig. 1 shows (42) joined to (20)) and a tip portion protruding toward an inner rear side of the vehicle (Fig. 1 shows the angle of the reinforcements (20) towards an inner rear side of the vehicle, paragraph [0030] of the machine translation); and fixing brackets fixing the reinforcements to the front side frames respectively (paragraph [0057] of the machine translation teaches a fixing bracket), and an axial direction of each of the reinforcements fixed to a corresponding one of the front side frames intersects an outer surface of the corresponding one of the front side frames in the vehicle width direction at a position on a side closer to the front of the vehicle than a joined portion between the corresponding one of the front side frames and the cross-member (Fig. 3), wherein the bottom portion defines a base of the triangular shaped reinforcement and that base is fixedly secured along a length thereof to the bumper beam (Fig. 1), and the base is of a lesser length than each of the side walls of the triangular shaped reinforcement that converge to the tip portion (Fig. 1, the base has smaller width than the side walls of the reinforcement). Asai ‘700 does not explicitly disclose wherein the tip portion of each of the reinforcements has a D-shape including a rounded shape that extends in an up-down direction of the vehicle. Asai ‘780, like Asai ‘700, teaches a vehicle body front structure (Figs. 1-7), and further teaches wherein the tip portion of each of the reinforcements has a D-shape including a rounded shape that extends in an up-down direction of the vehicle (Fig. 3 shows a D-shape at the tip portion of (42), (42B) with the rounded roller (48) at the end). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the structure of Asai ‘700 with providing a D-shaped tip portion as taught by Asai ‘780, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to reduce friction force between the tip portion of the reinforcements and the side frames (Asai ‘780: paragraphs [0031] of machine translation). Regarding claim 8, Asai ‘700 discloses a vehicle (12) body front structure (Fig. 1, (13)) comprising: front side frames in a pair (14), the front side frames extending in a front-rear direction of a vehicle on both sides of a front of the vehicle in a vehicle width direction (Fig. 1, paragraph [0018] of the machine translation); a cross-member (22) extending in the vehicle width direction on a front side of the vehicle (Fig. 1) and joined to the front side frames (Fig. 1); a bumper beam (20) joined to respective vehicle front-side ends of the front side frames (Fig.1), the bumper beam extending in the vehicle width direction and including both end portions serving as bent portions toward a rear side of the vehicle (Fig. 1 shows the bumper beam (20)); reinforcements (42) having a triangular shape (see Fig. 1, width is thicker at one end versus the opposite end creating a triangular shape, paragraph [0031] of the machine translation), the reinforcements each including a bottom portion joined to the bumper beam (Fig. 1 shows (42) joined to (20)) and a tip portion protruding toward an inner rear side of the vehicle (Fig. 1 shows the angle of the reinforcements (20) towards an inner rear side of the vehicle, paragraph [0030] of the machine translation), wherein , while in a pre-collision state, a bottom-to-tip vector line residing along a lengthwise central axis of each reinforcement extends both rearward and inward of the vehicle (Fig. 1); and fixing brackets fixing the reinforcements to the front side frames respectively (paragraph [0057] of the machine translation teaches a fixing bracket), and the axis of each of the reinforcements fixed to a corresponding one of the front side frames intersects an outer surface of the corresponding one of the front side frames in the vehicle width direction at a position on a side closer to the front of the vehicle than a joined portion between the corresponding one of the front side frames and the cross-member (Fig. 3). Asai ‘700 does not explicitly disclose wherein the tip portion of each of the reinforcements has a D-shape including a rounded shape that extends in an up-down direction of the vehicle. Asai ‘780, like Asai ‘700, teaches a vehicle body front structure (Figs. 1-7), and further teaches wherein the tip portion of each of the reinforcements has a D-shape including a rounded shape that extends in an up-down direction of the vehicle (Fig. 3 shows a D-shape at the tip portion of (42), (42B) with the rounded roller (48) at the end). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the structure of Asai ‘700 with providing a D-shaped tip portion as taught by Asai ‘780, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to reduce friction force between the tip portion of the reinforcements and the side frames (Asai ‘780: paragraphs [0031] of machine translation). Regarding claim 18, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 teaches the structure of claim 1, and teaches (references to Asai ‘700) wherein each fixing bracket comprises a V-shape bent metal plate with a first plate section fixed to a respective one of the frontal side frames and a second plate section fixed to an inner one of the extending side walls of a respective one of the triangular shaped reinforcements (paragraphs [0057] of the machine translation, the fixing bracket of Asai ‘700 would have to be in a V-shape in order to match both sides to fix in place when considering how the fixing bracket is described, the positioning would likely be in a V-shape). Regarding claim 19, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 teaches the structure of claim 18, and teaches (references to Asai ‘700) breaking off upon displacement of the first plate section relative to the receiving one of the frontal side frames (paragraphs [0057] of the machine translation). However, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 does not explicitly teach wherein the first plate section includes an elongated hole through which a bolt extends into a receiving one of the frontal side frames. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the structure of Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 with a bolt/hole breakaway connection, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to allow for the breakaway to happen from a known technique which would be obvious to try. Regarding claim 20, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 teaches the structure of claim 3, and teaches (references to Asai ‘700) wherein each fixing bracket comprises a V-shape bent metal plate with a first plate section fixed to a respective one of the frontal side frames and a second plate section fixed to an inner one of the extending side walls of a respective one of the triangular shaped reinforcements (the fixing bracket of Asai ‘700 would have to be in a V-shape in order to match both sides to fix in place when considering how the fixing bracket is described, the positioning would likely be in a V-shape). Regarding claim 21, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 teaches the structure of claim 8, and teaches (references to Asai ‘700) wherein each fixing bracket comprises a V-shape bent metal plate with a first plate section fixed to a respective one of the frontal side frames and a second plate section fixed to an inner one of the extending side walls of a respective one of the triangular shaped reinforcements (the fixing bracket of Asai ‘700 would have to be in a V-shape in order to match both sides to fix in place when considering how the fixing bracket is described, the positioning would likely be in a V-shape) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 2 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asai (JP 2017030700, hereinafter “Asai ‘700”, machine translation attached) in view of Asai (JP 2017047780, hereinafter “Asai ‘780”) as applied to claims 1 and 3 above respectively, and further in view of Sekiguchi et al. (US 2017/0210425) . Regarding claim 2, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 teaches the structure of claim 1, and teaches (references to Asai ‘700) wherein each of the front side frames includes a reinforcing member (46) disposed in a joined portion between each of the front side frames and the cross-member to extend from a vehicle rear-side position of the joined portion to an inside of the joined portion (Fig. 3, paragraph [0035] of the machine translation teaches a reinforcing member disposed in a joined portion between each of the front side frames and the cross-member). Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 does not explicitly teach wherein the reinforcing member has a recess spanning from a front-side outer surface of each of the front side frames in the vehicle width direction to a rear-side inner surface of each of the front side frames in the vehicle width direction. Sekiguchi et al., like Asai ‘700, teaches a vehicle body front structure, and teaches a reinforcing member (66) has a recess spanning from a front-side outer surface of a frame in the vehicle width direction to a rear-side inner surface of a frame in the vehicle width direction (Fig. 7 and paragraph [0081] teaches a curved shape as such as recited in the instant claim 2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the shape of the reinforcing member of the structure of Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 to the shape as taught by Sekiguchi et al., with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to support the transmittal of the impact load with a connecting component. In the combination, the front side frames taught by Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 include the reinforcing member as taught by Sekiguchi et al. (see Sekiguchi et al.: paragraph [0081]). Regarding claim 7, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 teaches the structure of claim 3, and teaches (references to Asai ‘700) wherein each of the front side frames includes a reinforcing member (46) disposed in a joined portion between each of the front side frames and the cross-member to extend from a vehicle rear-side position of the joined portion to an inside of the joined portion (Fig. 3, paragraph [0035] of the machine translation teaches a reinforcing member disposed in a joined portion between each of the front side frames and the cross-member). Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 does not explicitly teach wherein the reinforcing member has a recess spanning from a front-side outer surface of each of the front side frames in the vehicle width direction to a rear-side inner surface of each of the front side frames in the vehicle width direction. Sekiguchi et al., like Asai ‘700, teaches a vehicle body front structure, and teaches a reinforcing member (66) has a recess spanning from a front-side outer surface of a frame in the vehicle width direction to a rear-side inner surface of a frame in the vehicle width direction (Fig. 7 and paragraph [0081] teaches a curved shape as such as recited in the instant claim 2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the shape of the reinforcing member of the structure of Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 to the shape as taught by Sekiguchi et al., with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to support the transmittal of the impact load with a connecting component. In the combination, the front side frames taught by Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 include the reinforcing member as taught by Sekiguchi et al. (see Sekiguchi et al.: paragraph [0081]) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asai (JP 2017030700, hereinafter “Asai ‘700”, machine translation attached) in view of Asai (JP 2017047780, hereinafter “Asai ‘780”) as applied to claims 1, 3, and 8 above respectively, and further in view of Enning (US 2013/0199864) . Regarding claim 15, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 teaches the structure of claim 1, and teaches (references to Asai ‘700) wherein in addition to the cross-member (22) extending in the vehicle width direction on a front side of the vehicle and joined to the front side frames there is another cross-member (24) extending in the vehicle width direction that is more rearward as to, in conjunction with the front side frames (Fig. 1, paragraph [0024] of the machine translation discusses the cross-members and the suspension mount). However, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 does not explicitly teach the two cross-members in conjunction with the front side frames defining an electric motor installation space. Enning, like Asai ‘700, teaches a vehicle body front structure, and further teaches the battery being installed in the space along the suspension mounts (paragraph [0014]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the structure of Asai ‘700 as modifed by Asai ‘780 to use the space between the cross-members as an electric motor installation space as taught by Enning, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide a more structurally rigid structure to surround the electric motor installation space in the case of a collision. Regarding claim 16, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 teaches the structure of claim 3, and teaches (references to Asai ‘700) wherein in addition to the cross-member (22) extending in the vehicle width direction on a front side of the vehicle and joined to the front side frames there is another cross-member (24) extending in the vehicle width direction that is more rearward as to, in conjunction with the front side frames (Fig. 1, paragraph [0024] of the machine translation discusses the cross-members and the suspension mount). However, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 does not explicitly teach the two cross-members in conjunction with the front side frames defining an electric vehicle power unit installation space. Enning, like Asai ‘700, teaches a vehicle body front structure, and further teaches the battery being installed in the space along the suspension mounts (paragraph [0014]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the structure of Asai ‘700 as modifed by Asai ‘780 to use the space between the cross-members as an electric vehicle power unit installation space as taught by Enning, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide a more structurally rigid structure to surround the electric vehicle power unit installation space in the case of a collision. Regarding claim 17, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 teaches the structure of claim 8, and teaches (references to Asai ‘700) wherein in addition to the cross-member (22) extending in the vehicle width direction on a front side of the vehicle and joined to the front side frames there is another cross-member (24) extending in the vehicle width direction that is more rearward as to, in conjunction with the front side frames (Fig. 1, paragraph [0024] of the machine translation discusses the cross-members and the suspension mount). However, Asai ‘700 as modified by Asai ‘780 does not explicitly teach the two cross-members in conjunction with the front side frames defining an electric vehicle power unit installation space. Enning, like Asai ‘700, teaches a vehicle body front structure, and further teaches the battery being installed in the space along the suspension mounts (paragraph [0014]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the structure of Asai ‘700 as modifed by Asai ‘780 to use the space between the cross-members as an electric vehicle power unit installation space as taught by Enning, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide a more structurally rigid structure to surround the electric vehicle power unit installation space in the case of a collision . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 4-6 and 9-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Although the references of record show features similar to those of Applicant’s vehicle body front structure, the prior art fails to teach or make obvious the combined limitations of applicant’s claimed invention. Specifically, reinforcements mounted on the bumper beam inward of bent portions and/or flush with the bumper beam over a linear length . Conclusion 07-40 AIA Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL . See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARLY W. LYNCH whose telephone number is (571)272-5552. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30am-5:30pm, Eastern Time, alternate Friday. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter M Poon can be reached at 571-272-6891. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /CARLY W. 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